Player Focus: Sergio Romero an Unlikely Hero with the Hands of God
Javier Mascherano looked Sergio Romero in the eyes and said: “Hoy, vos te convertís en Héroe.” Today, you will become a hero. He then kissed his goalkeeper and wished him good luck. Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final between Argentina and the Netherlands had come down to a penalty shoot-out. As Romero waited for Ron Vlaar to take his spot-kick, pacing up and down his line, he pulled a piece of paper from his shorts, gave it a quick glance then hid it again in his waistband.
It brought back memories of Jens Lehmann. He had been given information scribbled on a crumpled piece of hotel notepaper before facing Argentina’s penalty takers after extra-time of the 2006 quarter-final. Later sold at auction for €1m, written on it were their habits and the areas of the goal they tended to go for. “1. Riquelme left high; 2. Crespo long run/right, short run/left; 3. Heinze left low; 4. Ayala long wait, long run right; 5. Messi left; 6. Aimar long wait left; 7. Rodriguez left.” Those pointers gave Lehmann an edge. He saved Ayala’s and Esteban Cambiasso’s efforts to contribute to Germany’s progression to the last four. Argentina must have learned from that experience.
It’s not yet known what intell was penned on Romero’s list but clearly it worked as he kept out Vlaar and then Wesley Sneijder to send his national team to their first World Cup final since 1990.
“Las Manos de Dios” was the headline on several front pages back home in Buenos Aires on Thursday: The Hands of God. To think they had pushed the Netherlands out of the competition, a team coached by Louis van Gaal, the man who brought Romero to Europe seven years ago, signing him for AZ Alkmaar. “I taught him how to stop penalties,” van Gaal claimed, “so that hurts.”
Romero’s performances in this tournament have elevated his status to that of another Sergio, surname Goycochea, the Argentina goalkeeper from Italia 90. His stops in shoot-outs against Yugoslavia and Italy got his country to the final then.
Over-hydrated to cope with the 35°C heat in Florence during the first one, Goycochea famously needed to urinate but had no time to go before the spot kicks started. His teammates suggested they stand around him while he went. It would become a bizarre ritual. Goycochea guessed right for Dragoljub Brnovic’s and Faruk Hadzibegic’s penalties and sent his team through. Out of superstition Argentina made Goycochea relieve himself again before the shoot-out with Italy in Naples. It brought more good luck as he stopped Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena.
And so when Germany got a penalty in the 85th minute of normal time in the final, the scoreline 0-0 and Argentina down to 10 men, a nation hoped his purple - or should that be yellow - patch would continue. It almost did. Assuming Andy Brehme would aim high and to his right, Goycochea dived accordingly. His intuition was very nearly bang on. The direction was correct. But the height was wrong. Brehme went low. striking a daisy cutter, and scored the World Cup clinching goal.
On Sunday at the Maracana the same opponents await Romero. Will his fate be any different? The parallels, though by no means exact, are striking. Goycochea went into Italia 90 as Argentina’s back-up goalkeeper behind Nery Pumpido and got his chance after their No.1 sustained an injury. Although first choice ahead of the World Cup in Brazil this summer, Romero’s consideration as such was not without debate.
The 27-year-old had played only 206 minutes this season for Monaco in Ligue 1, acting as a reserve to Danijel Subasic. On loan from Sampdoria, the abiding memory of him at Marassi is his howler in a Derby della Lanterna. Romero allowed a Matuzalem shot to get the better of him, an error that cost his team victory and gifted Genoa a draw.
Rusty and without competitive game-time, many were advocating for Boca Juniors Agustín Orion or Catania’s Mariano Andujar to start. Some also couldn’t understand why Malaga’s Willy Caballero didn’t even make the squad. It was thought that Romero would be a weak link for Argentina, along with their suspect defence. The firepower of their forward players Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Gonzalo Higuaín would have to get them out of trouble. Instead, it’s been nearly the opposite. Argentina have kept four clean sheets in six games. Half have been 1-0 wins.
While much of the focus has been on Messi, Argentina’s best players - in addition to him and the injured Angel Di Maria - have been Romero, centre-back Ezequiel Garay (7.44 WhoScored rating), left-back Marcos Rojo (7.58) and holding midfield player Javier Mascherano (7.67). With regard to Romero, it’s worth remembering his role in the victory against Iran, how he denied Reza Ghoochanneijhad and then tipped an Ashkan Dejagah header over the bar with one of the saves of tournament. He ensured Argentina avoided embarrassment, earning his highest match rating from WhoScored.com (7.31) to keep it at 0-0 long enough for Messi to find a winner with a moment of magic in the 91st minute.
Romero has saved 16 of the 18 shots he has faced. His ratio of 88.9% is the highest at the World Cup. He has perhaps been underestimated. Part of the Argentina team that won the Under-20 World Cup in 2007, then Olympic gold in 2008, Romero is highly thought of within this group. Elsewhere, not so much. L’Equipe have described him as an enigma. Monaco haven’t taken up their option to sign him and Sampdoria are inclined to sell because his wages [€1.7m a year] are out of their budget.
Win the World Cup on Sunday, however, and Romero will have no shortage of offers. Inside his gloves, or so his agent would no doubt claim, aren’t just any hands but Las Manos de Dios.
Can Romero be an unlikely hero once again to help Argentina win the World Cup? Let us know in the comments below
